Work is underway in Russellville to repair damaged crosswalks downtown.

Many residents have noticed that brick crosswalks in downtown Russellville have begun to dip and sag. The problems haven’t gone unnoticed by public officials, who have moved to fix the problem.

Repairs began Friday at the intersection of Boulder Avenue and West Main Street and are expected to be completed by midday today. Public Works Director Michael Oakes called the work “forensic” to determine why the brick crosswalks, installed this summer at two downtown intersections, are failing.

Kevin Smoke of Hard Rock Construction said the problem was determined to be caused by bad dirt under Main Street. He said with six inches of asphalt and six inches of concrete, the downtown area of Main Street has held up well even under fairly heavy use, but under that concrete is soft dirt.

“They basically just built the street on dirt,” he said. “And there’s some brick rubble and trash and anything you can imagine under that concrete.”

When constructing the brick crosswalks, Smoke said his crew had to cut a two-foot trench into the concrete to run electricity and water. The trenches were refilled with gravel and concrete, “which is strong, but there’s just poor dirt under that,” he said.

The proposed solution, Oakes said, is to pour 15 inches of concrete underneath the brick work. Officials believe that may be the answer to solve the problem at the crosswalks.

“We would hopefully see it perform well for the next several months, and if it does we will do something much like that on the rest — and if not, we’ll have to come up with something else,” Oakes said.

Smoke said although the situation is unfortunate, he said it was caused by unfortunate circumstances and was not the fault of any particular person or entity.

“It’s one of those deals it’s not really anybody’s fault,” he said. “No one can foresee everything.”

The project was completed according to specifications, Smoke added.

The current work is being performed under warranty by Hard Rock Construction. The initial project, which began construction in February and concluded in August, was funded largely by a grant from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

Klink. You keep making age related references to my comments which I find offensive. I can assure you that I am more technically savvy than you just based on your shallow knowledge of Civil Engineering. I am not insulting the people that did the work as you imply but their lack of oversight and due diligence. You are showing your true colors by insulting folks that are presenting facts. You want everything to be rainbows and butterflies which shows not only your immaturity but you liberal tendencies. You are trying to justify waisting money unnecessarily on projects that have no value and that are not done correctly. So speaking of age. You have been indoctrinated to believe that it is OK to do just OK.

Ok I'm going to break this down because not only is using a computer your weak point but so is reading comprehension.

- List the facts please. If you aren't going to list these "facts" then keep quiet and move on.

- I never tried to justify anything. I just pointed out the sinking could have happened no matter what. Again not justifying anything.

- Don't label people who disagree with you liberal. That is the problem with your old age. Anything you don't understand is "liberal" or "socialist". I'm neither. Don't try to figure out if I'm Democrat or Republican. I'm neither. I have zero political agenda here.

- At what point did I say it was ok to just be ok? You are again jumping to conclusions. I never said anything was ok.

Now try to respond to each of these things individually that way you do not forget to address them. Right now you are moving like a dog chasing his tail and while it was funny at first I'm getting pretty bored now. Give this next one your best shot. Think really long before typing things that are just your opinion. If you want to insult my age go ahead and try. Obviously I've nailed yours but you are struggling to find where I fit in the timeline. You should focus on proving point A before jumping to point B.

Gone to your own brand of 'mud' slinging. Nice. The folks that perform the maintenance itself on the roads here do not work the kind of schedules you and I may work, like 40 plus even though not Mon through Fri; they however do just that.

You said earlier you put in a 40 hr week like everyone, else. That's a load, not everyone else puts in the same as you, just working 40 would be nice.

BTW, no-one insulted the people who worked and sweated on the road all summer, I drove by a few times with windows down, no comfy A/C, and yes waved as well.

The fact remains, they did the job they were paid to perform, yet the planning and engineering behind it was less than adequate. Sure, things looked ok at first, although the job was not complete, but even the first few trips over that entire surface showed there was much trouble to come. Looking nice apparently was one of the things you figured was worth whatever cost, since you stated you did not think we needed the crosswalks, and hated driving there at the time. What about now? That's why so many people are unhappy with the amount of money spent on such a terrible job.

klink1; Nice things huh? Things like worse roads than when the project started? Things like stencils painted on new narrower road surfaces on Sunday(which is overtime rate for the guys doing the work/not salary pay)?

How is it that one who asks questions about this shoddy product is the reason we can't have the 'nice things' you mention?

Just wondering.

Google is no real research either, it's an ok starting point for some good questions.

Klink. You are delusional. You think folks ate going to work on Sunday without being compensated for overtime? What planet are you from. And for jumping to conclusions on this issue I presented the facts. Since you are a big fan of google being a reference why don't use it to verify my facts that have appeared in other articles in this newspaper. I am just reiterating the facts but you are too shallow to accept.

Again you are both assuming these people were paid overtime with no research gone into it. Not everybody works Monday through Friday. You are just hastily jumping to conclusions. I myself do not work Monday - Friday but I still put in a 40 hour work week like everyone else. This is where your age shows the most.

What facts would you like me to check? Be specific and use words from your previous posts no insinuations.

Neither of you are asking questions you are making assumptions and forming opinions based on those assumptions. In fact my original statement was just pointing out that no matter how great of a job these guys did or did not put into those crosswalks they still could have sunk. The problem is that you two do not want to even believe that for a second.

The insane part is where you two somehow completely reject the thought that everything put on top of the ground or under the ground moves. It is basic science you don't need a degree in anything to comprehend that. Because of this roads and sidewalks will always crack and sink. Water lines and gas lines will always end up leaking. Mother nature always wins we just do our best to fight it.

Last but not least, Google is a search engine. A tool you can use to find information. Google itself is not the information. I find it hard to believe that you spend so much time with the online version of our local newspaper but somehow pretend the most popular search engine in the majority of the world is just a "good start". Do you even know how to use the internet or did you just get stuck here on accident?

I also wanted to point out something else before you two start assuming things again. I do not agree with everything our city does. I didn't think we needed those crosswalks and I hated navigating that road during the construction of those crosswalks but when they were completed I thought they looked pretty nice. Did we need them? I really don't know. I certainly didn't but I hope there are people out there that enjoy them. I didn't think anything done on H St and N Detroit was needed. We moved all sorts of utilities to put in a traffic circle in what seems to be a very odd place. I believe someone mentioned awhile back that speed bumps before and after the park on N Detroit would have served a better function and with that I agree.

But before you go and insult the people doing that work out there think about how many times this summer you drove past them with your air conditioner on high and your windows up. Think about the guys in full safety gear (which doesn't keep you cooled off at all) making sure traffic goes through without anyone getting hurt. Think about the guys working a shovel in that heat all day long. These aren't people who want to run the clock. And they certainly do not want to come back and do it again in the winter. I don't like the traffic circle on Detroit but when I drive by it I can remember the guys I drove past every day working hard on it. One man in particular really stuck out in my mind. I saw him on my way to work in the morning and on the way back. He was in the same spot directing traffic almost all day soaked in sweat and still managed to smile and wave to anyone who took the time to do so to him. So in closing if I hadn't stuck it to you in my previous post I hope this does. I'd love to see you stand in front of those workers away from your username online and tell them they did a horrible job. In fact while they are repairing these crosswalks why don't you park your car, use the crosswalk to get to them and tell them yourself.

Klink you obviously are very defensive about this issue. Perhaps you are the engineer that worked on the project because it makes sense since you use Google as a reference. Or maybe you are a City Official that is trying to justify the incompetency that any reasonable person can see in this instance. And by the way soil subsidence in a period of a few months is a design flaw.

I'm not defensive. I'm just tired of hearing people like you make statements without any thought being put forward into it first. Just like you watched someone paint signs and instantly jumped to the conclusion they were being paid over time. Just like you immediately assume I must be an engineer or city official because I point out your lack of education on the subject at hand. Google is a gateway to much knowledge out there. If you want to seriously type on the internet you should get used to it first. You aren't being reasonable just in this discussion alone you have jumped to conclusions multiple times without any proof. Because you believe it does not make it reasonable. I never said it wasn't a design flaw I said it can happen no matter what. At the end of the day even if it was poor work they are repairing it under warranty. Now go back to staring out your window all day to see what the Jones are up to. You are why we can't have nice things and luckily your generation is on the way out.

Many good points all around, except for the last silly interjection about race. What a load. Governments are good at dodging any blame, this latest federal bunch especially so. This dodge ball act is exactly what is going on in the case of these horrible results after tearing up a decent part of our local roadway. Proper engineering prevents this kind of stuff. I went by the city office about a week ago to request repair, and they acted like the did not know what I was talking about. They sent me to AHTD, state folks, saying it was their job. After talking to AHTD for a while, I found out the job is actually NOT complete, and was set to finish up this coming spring, when the weather is right. Of course when I went back to the city, they suddenly understood exactly what I was speaking of. This kind of stuff wears folks out, we actually spent a bunch of money for this job, and poor planning/engineering yielded poor performance. Look at the comments quoted in the above article. That is pretty sad, it's like they just did the job and sat back and waited to see if it would turn out at all. Hope the rest of the jobs around town like the new overpass are way better than this. So who is responsible? We don't know since nobody will shoulder any of it. That is what the comparison to feds was about, not color.

Great point on the bike stencils, since the bike riders are required by law to obey traffic regulations about stop signs, lights and turns. Oh well.

You're the one that needs educating. Otherwise you would know there is such a thing as soil mechanics. Everything doesn't sink if designed correctly. I guess you would be ok with a contractor building you a new home and two years later the foundation cracking because in your words You would take the same position? I think not. Oh and by the way it is very interesting that city employees are painting bike symbols on Sunday. (most likely on overtime) on streets that don't have bike lanes. Why is the stenciling necessary

I need to be educated? As early as my child hood days I disovered what happens to dirt when it gets wet. Beyond being yelled at for tracking mud in the house I discovered that when dirt gets wet it turns into mud and becomes soft and generally doesn't support any weight often giving to the weight very quickly. This job was performed during our extremely dry season. I'm sure there was extra packing to help avoid sinking but at the end of the day you can never (especially with Pope county soil) predict 100% what is going to happen once that ground starts to take in water. Its obvious some people in this city are going to complain to complain. I can not say it was or wasn't a design flaw. I can not say it was poor work. None of you can. I'm not saying you can't be upset but more go find something worth being upset about. Nothing is sink proof. Every piece of concrete put in the ground or on the ground will either eventually float or sink. Some time spent with Google will educate yourself on it. Don't make us look like dumb rednecks from Arkansas. Go learn and quit crying.

"Bad dirt", "not really anyone's fault" , "We would hopefully see it perform well for the next several months, and if it does we will do something much like that on the rest — and if not, we’ll have to come up with something else,”. Give me a break. Sounds like these folks have been coached by the Obama Administration on how to avoid responsibility for failures. This looks like a case of incompetency on the part of the contractor. Is this the approach that they take on all of their projects? Did they not consult a Civil Engineer to evaluate the soil conditions on this project? Where we're the City Officials that should have been providing oversight. Oh that's right they were to busy touting how they are doing such a good job for the "progressive citizens" so called complete street imitative. Wake up folks these people are incompetent, they can't even ensure a cross walk is constructed correctly and they want to build a much needed parking garage downtown. I guess the city is not concerned about the quality of work in this instance because most of the funding was from the federal government. No accountability. That's what's wrong with this city and this country.

Right because Obama obviously had ties in the city of Russellville building a crosswalk? Any time work like this is completed there is always a chance of the ground sinking. What do you think makes parking lots crack or concrete driveways break? Eventually everything starts to sink into the ground. Otherwise every road and sidewalk created would never need any work or a crew to maintain it. There may be a lot wrong with our country and maybe our city. But our biggest problem as a whole is people not educating themselves and wanting to blame others for their misfortune.

In 40 years of service to my country I have worked or been involved in the construction of enough buildings such as Air Traffic Control Towers, parking lots, runways, roads, etc., none of which were designed to sink. The process usually involves competent engineering prior to final design and construction. Oversight by the awarding authority is always provided to the contractor. If the crosswalks sink, it is a engineering/design issue. If substrate core samples were not available from previous contracts they should have been taken. I assume that the contractor built the crosswalks per specifications they received. If so, the fault lies with Mr. Oakes. If specs were correct and installation was substandard it is still Mr. Oakes cross to bear. Where was the oversight?

Mr. Obama had nothing to do with this project. and I'm frankly tired of seeing 1950's racism injected into every T-Party letter written to the Courier.